The present invention refers to an ice mold construction of the type provided with a plurality of cavities for the formation of ice cubes and which is obtained in a single piece of plastic material.
The molds for producing ice cubes to be used in refrigerators and freezers usually have longitudinal and/or transversal rows of cavities or receptacles for the formation of ice cubes, said cavities being dimensioned so that each may produce an ice cube having determined characteristics of shape and dimensions within a known pattern, conventionally searched by the user.
An ice mold construction known in the art is made of a metallic material, usually aluminum. This construction has some advantages, such as the quick formation of ice, due to the high speed of heat exchange between the mold material, which is a good heat conductor, and the environment where said mold is placed, usually a portion of the evaporating plate of a freezing compartment.
However, the constructions using a mold in a metallic material have some disadvantages, such as the lower surface of the mold cavities being easily adhered to the adjacent surface of the evaporating plate, difficulty in dislodging the formed ice cubes from the molds, rigidity of the piece, and cost of the product. In order to solve these problems, molds of plastic material have been developed. However, these constructions have some deficiencies, such as the low speed in which the ice cubes are formed, due to the reduced thermal conductibility of the plastic.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ice mold obtained in a single piece and which allows a higher speed of ice cube formation.
This and other objectives are achieved by an ice mold of the type comprising, in a single piece, a tray incorporating at the lower part thereof a plurality of cavities for ice formation, which are superiorly open and have lateral walls and a bottom wall, and which are spaced from each other by a respective tray portion.
According to the present invention, each cavity has, at least in part of its lateral walls, a double wall forming a respective receptacle, which is inferiorly and laterally closed and superiorly open, and which will be filled up with water to be frozen and solidified, each receptacle incorporating at least one anchoring means for retaining the ice formed therein, even when the ice cubes formed in the cavities are removed.